1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a vertical outdoor cooker for smoking or otherwise cooking or warming one or more food items in the cooker using smoke and/or heat from a heat source in a base of the cooker, more particularly to an expandable vertical food cooker to which cooking drawers can be added for increased capacity, or removed for decreased capacity.
2. Background Information
Outdoor barbecuing is an art form in the South, and apparently in other areas of the country as well. Rabid barbecue fans compete in “Best BBQ” cook-offs, each claiming to have the tastiest secret recipe barbecue sauces and meat rubs. The food cooker of the present invention is an effective outdoor smoker for barbecuing meats and for cooking various other food items.
Advantages of the vertical food cooker of the present invention include the following: 1) its stacked, tight fitting cooking drawers and generally vertical shape permit high capacity and versatility; 2) its small footprint means that it does not occupy a great deal of floor space on a patio or deck, for example; 3) its removable grill grates are easy to clean and can be removed for accommodating larger cuts of meat or other foods in the cooker. A vertical food cooker that can be expanded or reduced in size as desired is particularly useful for the home or professional chef. Cooking drawers can be added to the expandable vertical food cooker of the present invention for increased capacity, and later removed for decreased cooking capacity, as desired.